Greetings

Greetings are very important in Japanese. Both greeting and parting phrases are called aisatsu.
Someone who makes no aisatsu may be seen as cold and dysfunctional. These aren't all
the aisatsuout there, but they'll give you a good start.
Good morning. (Hi.)
Ohayou gozaimasu.
Good afternoon. (Hi.)
Konnichi wa.
Good evening. (Hi.)
Konban wa.
Good night. (Said before bedtime.) Oyasuminasai. (Lit. Have a good rest.)
It's been a long time. Ohisashiburi desu.
How do you do? (Said when meeting someone
for the first time.) Hajimemashite.
I ask that you treat me kindly. (This is said often Douzo yoroshiku onegaishimasu.
when you meet someone for the first time or
when you've asked them to do you some favor.)
Are you well? Ogenki desu ka.
Yes, I'm fine. Hai, genki desu.
Goodbye. Sayounara./Sayonara. (Sayonara is not normally
used when leaving one's own home unless one is
leaving for a very long time.)
See you. Dewa mata./Ja mata./Mata ne.
See you tomorrow. Mata ashita.
I'm going but I'll be back. (Said when leaving
home.) Ittekimasu.
Have a good time. See you later. (Response to
Ittekimasu.) Itterasshai.
Take care. (Be careful)
Ki o tsukete.
I'm home. Tadaima.
Welcome home. (Said in response to 'tadaima.') Okaerinasai.
I'm sorry for leaving before you. (Said as one Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu.
leaves the office if leaving before other people.)
Thanks for working so hard. (Said to someone Otsukare sama deshita.
who's finished a task or in response to Osaki ni. )
Welcome. Youkoso.
Sorry to bother you. (Said when entering Ojamashimasu.
someone's home.)
Please come in. (Lit. Please come up. Said to Oagari kudasi.
someone entering your home.)

Sorry
Just as saying a simple 'I'm sorry' will not work in every situation in English, there are many
different ways to apologize in Japanese. There are more forms than are listed on this page; this is
only an introduction.
sumimasen / I'm sorry. (Excuse me.)
suimasen - Can be used to get someone's attention.
gomen nasai / Forgive me. (The nasai form is polite.)
gomen - Use for apologies or when declining something.
Please excuse me. (Lit. I'm going to break form.)
- Use when entering a room during a meeting (for serving tea etc.) or
shitsurei shimasu when looking for something on someone's desk. (If you are intruding on
someone's time/space it's good to say this.)
- Used by school children as they enter the teachers' room.
Please excuse me, I was rude. (Lit. I broke form.)
shitsurei shimashita - Use when exiting a room.
- Used by school children as they exit the teachers' room.
moushiwake gozaimasen /
I have no excuse. (The gozaimasen form is more polite.)
moushiwake arimasen
ikenai koto o shimashita I've done something I shouldn't have.
watakushi ga warukatta I was wrong. (Lit. I was bad.)

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Common Sayings
Please note that greeting and closing remarks are covered on their own page.

English Japanese

I receive. (Said before eating a meal.)

Itadakimasu.

Thank you for the meal. (Said after eating a meal.)

Gochisou sama deshita.
Do your best. Ganbatte kudasai.
Are you all right? Daijoubu desu ka?
 I'm all right. Daijoubu desu.

Here you are. (Offering a favor.)

Douzo.
Please do it. (lit. 'I beg you.') (Requesting a favor.) Onegai shimasu.
Thank you (very much). (Doumo) arigatou gozaimasu.
Thanks. Arigatou./Doumo.
You're welcome. Douitashimashite.
I don't understand. Wakarimasen./Wakaranai.
Excuse me. (Getting attention) Sumimasen.
I'm sorry. Gomen nasai.
Is that so? Aa sou desu ka?
That's tough isn't it? Taihen desu ne.
How unfortunate Zannen desu ne.
Excuse me. (I am rude. ) Shitsurei shimasu.
I am being rude by leaving before you. (Said when leaving the
room before someone, particularly when leaving work before Osaki ni shitsurei shimasu.
others.)
(You've worked hard so) you must be tired. (Said to someone
Otsukare sama deshita.
leaving work for home.)
Excuse me. (Said when entering someone's home.) Ojama shimasu.
Cheers! Kanpai.
No, that's OK. (Said when refusing something.) Iie, kekkou desu.
It can't be helped. Shou ga nai.
Note: Someone once asked me whether Taihen desu ne. and Zannen desu ne. were sarcastic
phrases. They aren't sarcastic; rather, they are used to express sympathy.

Telephone Phrases
It is always difficult to talk on the phone in a language you don't understand well. Don't give up
though. Practice will help a lot. Listen very carefully to what the other person says. Talking on the
phone in Japanese has an added complication, since there are some formal phrases customarily
used in phone conversations. (The Japanese normally talk very politely on the phone unless talking
with a friend.)

Telephone Numbers

A telephone number (denwa bango) consists of the three parts, for example, (XX) XXXX-XXXX.
The first part is the area code. The second and last part are the person's number. Each number is
usually read separately, linking the parts with the particle "no". In telephone numbers 0 is often
pronounced as zero, 4 as yon, 7 as nana, and 9 as kyuu (as 0, 4, 7 and 9 each have two different
pronunciations). If you do not know the Japanese numbers, click here to learn them. If my phone
number were 1234-5678 it would be read "ichi ni san yon no go roku nana hachi." (Remember 'no'
takes the place of the dash in the number.)

To ask someone's number you can say Denwa bango wa nan ban desu ka.

Phrases

In Japanese, a lot of set phrases are used when speaking on the phone, especially in business
situations. One important phrase is "moshi moshi." It is used by the caller when the person at the
other end picks up. Some people say "moshi moshi" to answer the phone, but "hai" is used more
often especially in business. (Do not say 'mushi mushi' that means 'bugs, bugs' and sounds rather
silly.) Moshi moshi can also be said when you think that the caller cannot hear you or to make sure
the caller is still on the line.

Before hanging up the phone it is common to say shitsurei shimasu or shitsurei itashimasu. This
indicates that you are about to hang up.

At the Office
Watanabe to moushimasu. This is Mr./Ms. Watanabe.
Ogura-san wa irasshaimasu ka. Is Mr./Ms. Ogura there?
Tanaka-san o onegaishimasu. Could I speak to Mr./Ms. Tanaka?
Hai, orimasu. Yes, he/she's in.
Moushiwake arimasen ga, tadaima gaishutsu shite I'm sorry, he's/she's not here at the
orimasu. moment.
Naisen no XX-ban o onegaishimasu. I'd like extension XX please.
Shou shou omachi kudasai. Just a moment, please.
Shitsurei desu ga, dochira sama desu ka. Excuse me, but who's calling, please?
Nanji goro omodori desu ka. Do you know about when he/she will be
back?
Chotto wakarimasen. I'm not sure.
Mousugu modoru to omoimasu. He/she should be back soon.
Yuugata made modorimasen. He/she won't be back till this evening.
Nanika otsutae shimashou ka. Can I take a message?
Onegaishimasu. Please do.
Iie, kekkou desu. No, that's OK, thank you.
O-denwa kudasai to otsutae negaemasu ka. Could you please ask him/her to call me?
Mata denwa shimasu to otsutae kudasai. Could you please tell him/her I'll call back
later?
Konban mata kakenaoshite kudasai. Please call back this evening.

Someone's Home
Yamada-san no otaku desu ka. Is this Mr./Ms. Yamada's residence?
Hai, sou desu. Yes, it is.
Watakushi wa Ichiro desu ga. This is Ichiro.
Haruko-san wa irasshaimasu ka. Is Haruko there?
Yabun osoku ni sumimasen. I'm sorry to phone you so late at night.
Dengon o onegaishimasu. Can I leave a message?
Mata ato de denwa shimasu. I'll call back later.

Phone Troubles
Sumimasen. I'm sorry.
Motto yukkuri hanashite kudasai. Please speak more slowly.
Mou ichido itte kudasai. Please say it again.
Mou ichido onegaishimasu. Could you repeat that please?
Wakarimasu ka. Do you understand?
Wakarimasen. I don't understand.
Iie, chigaimasu. No, you're mistaken. (Use this when people have dialed
the wrong number.)
Machigaemashita. I made a mistake. (I dialed the wrong number.)
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Help!
English Japanese
Help! Tasukete!
Fire! Kaji da!
Call the police! Keisatsu o yonde!
Get a doctor! Isha o yonde!
Call an ambulance! Kyuukyuusha o yonde!
Call the fire department! Shoubousho o yonde!
Come quickly! Isoide kite!
Go away! Atchi e ike!
Give it back! Kaeshite-kure!
Theif! Dorobou!
Don't touch me! Sawaranaide!
I'm lost. Michi ni mayoimashita.
I'm ill. Kibun ga suguremasen.
I'm hurt. Kega shite shimaimashita.
Please help me. Tasukete kudasai.

In case of an emergency, call 119 for an ambulance (kyuukyuu-sha) or the fire department
(shoubou-sho).

Call 110 for the police (keisatsu).

If you dial 119 for assistance but are unable to speak, tap the receiver twice and leave the phone
off the hook and rescue workers will trace the call and come to help you.
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